Civil aviation minister reaches Nepal

DHAKA, March 14, 2018 (BSS) - Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister AKM Shahjahan Kamal yesterday reached Nepal to monitor personally the latest situation of the yesterday's deadly crash of the US-Bangla Airlines plane at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu that left nearly 50 people dead.

The minister accompanying with member operation and flight safety director of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) left Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport by a Biman Bangladesh Airlines regular flight at 11.15 am, a spokesperson of the ministry told BSS.

After reaching at Tribhuvan International Airport, the minister met with high officials of Civil Aviation of Nepal, Bangladesh Ambassador to Nepal and Bangladeshi Civil Aviation officials.

Later, he visited injured people at a hospital in Nepal.

Meanwhile, a US-Bangla flight left Dhaka this morning for Nepal with 46 relatives of the crash victims.

"A seven-member team of our airlines led by CEO Imran Asif along with the victims' relatives on board the special flight reached Kathmandu around 11.10am," US-Bangla General Manager Kamrul Islam said.

He also confirmed that the pilot of the crashed US-Bangla Airlines flight Abid Sultan who sustained injuries in the plane crash, died at a local hospital in Kathmandu yesterday.

At least 45 people were confirmed killed as an aircraft of Bangladesh's private US Bangla Airlines crashed and burst into flames while landing at Kathmandu with 71 people onboard, 67 being passengers- 32 from Bangladesh, 33 from Nepal and one each from China and the Maldives- on Monday.

International wire services Reuters and AFP, however, quoted the casualty figures as 50 and 49 respectively and said several people were rescued from the burning wreckage of the Bombardier Dash Q400 series aircraft.